Based on their interviews, one educator will be anointed Teacher of the Year but any teacher in the district could have been named.

"Every teacher there deserves this honor," said Sheryl Taylor, named Paramount Terrace Elementary School's teacher of the year. "I'm just the representative of a group of teachers who all work long, hard hours to see that their students learn what they need to be successful, productive students."

A candidate for Teacher of the Year "is a person who can remember and celebrate special things about students, co-workers and their families," said Cheryl Collier, Whittier Elementary's teacher of the year. "This says to me that you care not only about the student's learning but have also given a lot of thought to your teaching/school community. You have placed them on a priority level."

Sharing and learning is a big part of the teaching process, said Debbie Thomas, teacher of the year from Lamar Elementary School.

"A good teacher is someone who loves children, is flexible, is willing to share his/her expertise with colleagues, strives to make learning relevant to real life, is always learning whether it be through professional literature, traveling or hunting around town or out of town for experts in specific content knowledge," she said.

All three teachers said good teachers exhibit both professionalism and a caring heart.

"In the world of teachers you cannot separate the two," Taylor said.

A caring heart extends to teaching children not just from books but from the world all around them.

"One who causes children to utilize all five senses and causes them to laugh, laugh, laugh to make learning fun," Thomas said.

When the teacher models respect, responsibility and success to students, the students take it home to their parents, Collier said.

"This in turn creates an environment where kids want to come to school and parents feel good about sending them," she said. "And you, the teacher, have the privilege of educating our future."

People don't choose education as a profession for the money.

"Teaching is a calling and a gift," Taylor said. "As with any gift, it is accepted with grace, excitement, courage and fun, and with any calling it is accepted with commitment and hard work."

When parents leave their children at school at the beginning of the day they can be sure their little ones will be cared for with love and devotion. Care for the children is "not only my job," Collier said, it's "my home away from home."

And like other parents, teachers are concerned about doing what is needed for the children to experience success, Taylor said.

"We all worry about our 'kids' and have sleepless nights thinking of ways to help those who may be struggling and challenge them above what they think is possible," Taylor said.

Collier said she tries to emphasize to parents, "I am just like you. I want what you want for your children.

"I also want people to know I care not only about the job I do but (care) for the diverse group of people and children I share it with," she said.

Taylor said when teachers and parents work together for the good of the children, they form a powerful team.

"And TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More," she said.

Campus teachers of the year, eligible to be named Amarillo Independent School District's Elementary Teacher of the Year include:

Carver Early Childhood Academy: Shelly Pope

Coronado: Mary Lisa Thorne

Eastridge: Genny Devoe

Emerson: Luis Solis

Forest Hill: Eunice Green

Glenwood: Richard Partney

Hamlet: Kristin McCarrell

Humphrey's Highland: Gayle Eudy

Lamar: Debbie Thomas

Landergin: Marianne Kirkland

Lawndale: Kellie Krahn

Lee: Pam Bush

Mesa Verde: Bink Binkley

Oak Dale: Sherri Reynolds

Olsen Park: Joylyn Simpson

Paramount Terrace: Sheryl Taylor

Pleasant Valley: Christine McGowen

Puckett: Beverly Davis

Ridgecrest: Lorie Turner

Rogers: Sharon Wilhelm

Sanborn: Frances Martinez

San Jacinto: Sandy Williams

Sleepy Hollow: Rhonda Alexander

South Georgia: Brenda Conway

South Lawn: Kris Smith

Sunrise: Doris Lindow

Western Plateau: Sherry Mauldin

Whittier: Cheryl Collier

Wills: Gail Field

Windsor: Sasha Garton

Wolflin: Becky Phifer

Woodlands: Jaimie Bentley

AISD Teacher of the Year Selection Process

March 7: Members of the Teacher of the Year Committee received entries for judging

March 21: Committee members return completed rating sheets for scoring

March 23: Six finalists notified

March 28: The six finalists are interviewed

May 8: Teacher of the Year announced at Teacher Appreciation Breakfast at Tascosa Country Club